Prodigy of the Mist
by iHelix
Summary: Akane Momochi is new to the Leaf Village. All she wants is to make a living as a ninja but how can she with the shadow of her uncle, Zabuza Momochi, looming over her? Includes OCs
1. My Prodigy

Alright, this story has a couple of OCs that I will give short background on because the OCs belong to my friends. I sort of have to add them because I was so intimate with details in the future that involve a couple of them. When the other OCs surface, I'll give a short bio. on them. Anyway, it's good to be back on FanFiction and hopefully I won't disappear again. Enjoy the first chapter! R&R please!

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The Village Hidden in the Mist – this place – so cold, so empty. No other day was different. If it was not raining, it was snowing and vice versa. Rarely did the villagers ever get a look at the sun. The constant clouds hid the hope of the comforting warm rays.

As everyday went so far, it had snowed for at least three days now, leaving snow up to at least anyone's ankles. Treading through the powder blanket, a young preteen girl was searching for her uncle in the heavy mist.

Her faded gray eyes reflected nothing but the masses of snow around her and the wind-chilled breeze played lightly with her charcoal black hair and the light snowfall blended with the thin silver streaks lining her hair. Her simple black tank top covered a short-sleeved mesh top, that both ended in the mid of her stomach, and a mid-thigh high skirt did nothing to keep her warm. On her legs, she wore bandages that started at her hips and stopped just above her ankles. The only thing left on her was her open toed black sandals that most ninjas wore.

This girl made this search around the village a daily routine since she was old enough to walk on her own. Her slim figure may make her look like a common female villager but she was actually a trainee apprentice ninja. Though she never attended a formal academy, she had her own personal trainer of sorts that remained hidden from the rest.

"Akane Momochi," a soft voice called to her from an alleyway beside her.

Akane shifted her head to the side and addressed the one who had called her name with her eyes. "I've been looking for you, Haku." She smiled lightly at the young boy in a kimono outfit. "Where are you and Uncle hiding today?"

The boy addressed as Haku turned away from her and disappeared into a cloud of mist that amassed from nothing it seemed. Akane took a few steps back and almost fell in the snow.

"Haku!" she called as her vision became of no help to her. Her eyes widened a little more and a smirk formed across her lips as she realized the test she had been given. Without hesitation, she ran into the thick of the mist. "I am not going to lose this time Haku!"

Every time Haku or her uncle greeted her, they would follow it with a test, usually one involving sharpening the senses. It was a key part of her training that sight was not something to rely on.

When she sensed that running was a lost cause, she stood still in the fog and darted about the white blur with her eyes. Akane was not doing this just to keep her senses sharp – but to keep herself alive. The first few times she had tried this training with her uncle and Haku, he nearly killed her each time until her speed increased and her reflexes reacted almost before the action would happen. It was a strategy that was vital to her training as a ninja.

Akane looked over her shoulder in time to dodge three senbon needles that would have seemed invisible had she not been alert. She crouched low to the floor and began running through the snow searching for water that she could use. Her techniques required that she use water to make it more effective. Her hands moved in rapid succession of the first creating a series of symbols and when she stopped she called out a technique name. "Mist Clone Technique!" she called out as mirror like images of herself appeared in the mist all around her.

_Maybe, just maybe, it will distract him_, she told herself as she continued running.

"That was clever but I can see right through it," Haku's voice whispered into her ear right before five senbon formed a line down her spine.

Akane fell in the snow, pulled them out quickly, and stared at the drops of blood sliding off the needles. She growled thinking of how she could not dodge that. Back on her feet, she started meditating to gather chakra into her feet.

_I have to hurry! Haku is not going to waste time because I'm not moving!_ She scolded herself until she felt the right amount of chakra flowing through to her feet.

A smirk formed across her face and she began running at an abnormal rate. The mere gathering of chakra caused her speed to increase to just below Haku's average speed. It didn't seem like much of an accomplishment but Haku's speed was beyond any ninja she had ever seen before.

"Where do you think you're going?" Haku appeared beside her while running at the same speed.

"Around," she answered before darting to the left causing Haku to follow after her. Quickly, she spun around and finished a sequence of hand signs. "Water Vortex Technique!"

Haku remained unmoved by the motion. "You can not conjure that much water from snow." His eyes widened in fear seeing a wave of water suddenly rushing at him from the blinding fog. "What?" he cried as the water hurled him across the ground.

_It's still too weak but it will manage!_ Akane dashed across the ground and stuck her hand out towards Haku. "Water Prison Technique!" Just as she said that, a shell of water formed around Haku and he was rendered immobile from the inside.

Akane sighed knowing the battle was over and a few light claps echoed from the fog as it began to lift. A figure began to approach her through the cloud and she prepared for anything more her uncle would throw out for her.

"Uncle Zabuza!" Akane's face lit up with joy and she released Haku from his prison the moment her hand removed itself from the water shell. "How did I do this time? I've gotten much better from the very first warm up against Haku, haven't I?"

The man labeled as Zabuza loomed over the girl with his height and glared down at her. "I was impressed that you were able to melt the snow with your chakra." He touched her head and ruffled it as he messed with her hair. "Don't think that you are better then Haku now. Your next warm up will be much more difficult."

Akane nodded and bowed to her uncle as he began taking her further away from the main street. She trotted to catch up and walk by his side and she looked up at his face that seemed disappointed in a way.

"Are you angry with me?" she lowered her eyes to the snow ahead of her.

Zabuza looked down at her and sighed. "No, I have other thoughts in mind for you and I have a gift."

At first, Akane gave him a puzzled gaze because she was not used to her uncle being so generous to her. He was always brutal and harsh but he was the only one that would let her train as a ninja and for that she was always grateful.

"Haku," Zabuza snapped his glare to the young boy walking on the other side of him, "go get Akane's present and be quick about it."

Haku simply nodded and disappeared into the fog with a simple stealthy step. Zabuza stepped in front of Akane and she had time to stare at his sword that was almost equal length to his own body. Only a master of strength and hand-to-hand combat could wield it with such ease as he did.

"Akane, you already know that you are not allowed to become a formal ninja because of your parents and that I am your only chance at achieving that dream, right?" Zabuza crossed his arms with his back still facing the small girl.

Akane stepped a little closer and nodded. "Of course I do, but my parents don't like your training any better," Akane played with her fingers. "They still haven't told me why they don't like you. Every time I ask, it's almost like they don't want to talk about it."

Zabuza smirked under the bandages covering half of his face and he turned around as his hands made their way onto his hips. "They are scared of me, Akane. If I teach you how to become a ninja, they will cower knowing you are stronger then they are and you are crafted in the very image of me. You are my prodigy Akane and I believe it is time that you think the same way as I do."

Akane stared at her uncle's eyes for a moment in confusion. "What are you talking about?" She shivered a bit feeling a different aura coming from him.

She had trained with Zabuza for about five years now and already knew that he could be cruel and ruthless but his eyes gave off a sense of darkness that she had not seen before.

Haku appeared beside him with a weapon strapped to his back that he unhooked and handed to Zabuza. He held a massive blade up to her neck and watched as her eyes widened until they could not anymore.

"T-The Guillotine?" Akane stared at the blade threatening to slit her throat.

"Yes, this is an exact replica of the sword I have. It is fit for you and will be usable even when you grow a couple more inches in a few years," Zabuza lowered the blade and faced the handle to her. "Go on, take it."

Akane's eyes widened with excitement. She had been waiting for a long time to get such a weapon crafted by her uncle. The sword was a very special item to her and it reminded her so much of the power her uncle had when he wielded it, just how she wanted to be.

Without hesitating, Akane grasped the sword and twirled it around once before letting it rest on the ground. A few gasps for air escaped her mouth before she gripped the blade again and swung it in a perfectly balanced manner. Zabuza applauded her with his stare and crossed his arms signaling her to pay attention.

Her blade rested beside her as her eyes met Zabuza's. "Uncle, what did you mean wanting me to think the way you do?"

Zabuza and Haku looked to each other and back to the young girl. "You really are oblivious, Akane. All these years that I have been training you and you still have yet to discover that I am a Missing-nin of the Hidden Mist Village."

"W-What?" Akane chuckled. "Don't even play around like that. I don't know what I would do if you were a criminal!"

The same unseen smirk crossed Zabuza's lips under the mask and he laughed maniacally. "Here's the thing, Akane, I am a criminal. To the village, I am a wanted man. The slash across my headband was not obtained during battle like I've told you before. But don't have an episode; I have a reason for my actions."

Haku tossed Akane a strap to cradle her sword but she let it drop to the ground. Her eyes were filled with fear and betrayal. "You've taken this joke to far. I told you not to say things like that," she desperately tried to make them say that they were only kidding.

"This is not a joke!" Zabuza thrust his arm forward and grasped Akane's neck. "Listen to me Akane, look around the village and tell me what you see!" Zabuza faced her towards the street and tightened his grip. If he gripped any tighter, he would snap her neck. "There is nothing in this village but pain and suffering. There is no hope in this village. If the Hidden Mist Village were to be engaged in war, this village would crumble to pieces in a matter of seconds. When you walk home, what do you see?"

Akane could only release a choked gasp as an answer.

"Akane," Haku's calming voice soothed her slightly, "I was one of the many poor souls in this village that had no hope. Then your uncle, who offered me a chance to end this suffering for everyone by aiding him, found me. He gave me hope. He gave me a purpose."

Zabuza released her neck and Akane immediately fell to her knees in the snow. "It's true. I tried to assassinate the Mizukage and failed. Thus the treatment towards this village continues. If I can not fulfill my duty and save the villagers of this horrid reign, my duties will fall on you Akane, my prodigy."

_Prodigy?_ Akane stared at the white blanket surrounding her. Her hands slowly grazed the snow and grasped the sword harness. _But I could never kill the Mizukage. I have never seen such mistreatment that he is talking about. I could never do that._

Zabuza knelt down to Akane's level and pulled her chin up for her to face him. "Think about all the people you could be letting down if you fail to continue my legacy. The Mizukage must die at all costs. My bad reputation is a result of my failure. Until my death, that is my mission."

Akane forced herself on her feet and she slung the holster over her shoulders. "Uncle Zabuza, if I am to continue your work, what will I have to do?" Her eyes stayed focused on the floor, not wanting to make eye contact with Zabuza or Haku.

Zabuza grabbed Akane's sword off the ground and held the handle towards her. "Take the Guillotine and train with it. Remember my techniques that I have shown to you and pass them on. Fulfill my dream for it will become yours soon enough."

A chilled breeze sent shudders up and down Akane's spine and her black hair fell into her face when her head lowered even more. The tiny frozen drops melted when they touched her and the ice blended with the faded white streaks in her hair. Her hands reached forward and held the sword tightly in them before she slipped it into the holster on her back.

"I want you to come looking for us tomorrow and I expect you to be emotionally ready for what I am going to do to you." Zabuza threw his head back and laughed loudly.

Akane moved her hair behind her ears and she started walking back through the snow.

"Don't be late," Zabuza warned her one last time before she disappeared into the mist that was becoming thick again. "Let's leave her parents alone tonight, Haku."

Haku tilted his head ever so slightly. "What if her parents call a squad of Hunter-nin and they come after us again?" he suggested as he looked to Zabuza for an answer.

"We have escaped them before so we will escape from them again but we will have to lay very low today and tomorrow. We will give Akane a little more of a challenge when she comes looking for us tomorrow." Zabuza cracked his neck.

Haku smiled, the edges of his lips tilting upwards. "You can't keep lying to her Zabuza. I hardly think that she will believe you much longer."

Zabuza shook his head. "You doubt me too much, Haku. Akane will do anything I say. Can't you see the loyalty in her eyes? She would never disobey me." He chuckled and faded into the fog with Haku at his side.

Akane continued through the snow as she kept hands folded in each other by her chest. This awkward feeling welled up inside of her and there was no one she could really explain it to. She had no friends and her parents would not know how to deal with it. The steel against her back grew colder with the icy winds and she held her hands even closer to her body.

_What if I don't want to kill the Mizukage? What will Uncle do to me?_ Akane nibbled on the edge of her thumb as she broke into a run for her house. _And what if Uncle is right?_

Just as she said that, she spotted three kids huddling against one another in the snow and one looked up at her with eyes begging for her to help. Her hands formed fists against her chest and she ran trying to shake off her disbelief.

As she turned onto her street, she slid to a stop in the snow and darted her eyes around. There was this feeling that someone was watching her in secret. It wasn't much of a secret if she could sense their presence but whether the presence was harmless or not remained a question. She took a step forward and a line of five kunai knives formed by her foot.

Her first reaction was to take her own sword out of its holster and use it as her own defense. "No sense hiding now!" Akane's cry echoed down the empty street.

Three Anbu ninja appeared on each side of Akane and she lowered her weapon. One of the three stepped closer and motioned for the other two to step back. "Akane Momochi," the Anbu spoke, "we have been hired by your parents to escort you home and send you straight to the Hidden Leaf Village under the command of the Mizukage and Hokage. We also believe you have knowledge on the whereabouts of your uncle, Zabuza Momochi."

Akane strapped the sword to her back and stared right into the animal-resembling mask of the Anbu ninja standing before her. "I swear on the Mizukage's life that I have no clue as to where my uncle is hiding. If you don't mind, I would like to go home now."

The Anbu ninja surrounded her on all sides and walked in step with her as she approached her home where her mother and father waited outside with bags at hand and concerned looks on their faces.

"Akane, sweetie, we were so worried about you. Don't worry about your stuff because we already packed it and it is being shipped to Konoha with the rest of the furniture," her mother greeted with a smile.

Her mother tried to grab Akane's arm but she swiftly shook off her mother and balled her hands into fists. "What? I didn't think you were serious about these Anbu taking us to Konoha! My whole life is here in the Hidden Mist Village!"

Her father stepped forward and grabbed her wrist signaling her that he would not tolerate such behavior from her. "Your whole life is revolving a killer that will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. Akane, we think that what he wants is _you_."

Akane flicked her hand free again and stepped backwards causing the Anbu to become alert and ready for her to fight back. "Maybe he wants me because he finds potential in me! You wouldn't even let me attend a formal ninja academy! I would have no one to support my dreams to be a ninja if Zabuza was not here!"

The Anbu surrounding Akane drew out their weapons and focused on her. "Akane Momochi, our mission is to take you and your family to Konoha today. Whether you are coming or not is not up to you but to your parents and they feel it is in your best interest to never see Zabuza again."

She shook her head as her eyes started to become watery. "I don't want to go! I don't want to! I'll never become ninja if I leave Zabuza!" She flailed her arms as her parents tried to grab her again but the Anbu grabbed her and rendered her immobile with simple rope to tie her hands and used sedatives to calm her down.

"Rest assured Momochi family that we will take care of everything from here." One Anbu nodded his head and slung Akane over his shoulder knowing she could not move on her own.

Staring at the snowy ground, Akane slowly entered a state of unconsciousness. Her sight blurred as her last visions of the Hidden Mist Village entered her mind – The endless snowfall and the cold wave that washed over her every time a snowflake landed on her warm skin.

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Well, hopefully you enjoyed that. **Heads up though.** The first couple of chapters will come relatively fast but I can't say for anything past that. Thank you! Oh yes,and please notify me of any grammar or spelling errors you may have spotted.


	2. Transition

_See_, this chapter came pretty fast O.o AUGH! Anyway, I mentioned a couple of OCs that I added before. They belong to my friends who should also have accounts here. I added them for a couple of reasons. -cough- Chuunin Exams -cough-  
Enjoy! R&R

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A year later after moving to Konoha, Akane had adjusted to living in a whole different setting. This place was so much different from the Hidden Mist Village. The sun shined a lot more then it ever did in Akane's lifetime and rarely would she ever have to experience rain or snow. This place – it was filled with hope.

The moment Akane moved to Konoha her parents decided to let her join the Leaf Ninja Academy where she would then be trained as a Leaf ninja but it was a much different experience for her. Seeing as she was trained under an elite Jounin since she was six, her progress in most fields was slightly advanced. The Chuunin instructors decided to keep her in the currently graduating class because of her skill. Her progress in most Konoha based techniques was much harder for her to grasp and that was the only thing giving her a challenge.

Finally, it was the day before she would graduate into the first rank of a ninja known as Genin. It was the first time Akane could prove to others that she had what it takes to be a respected ninja. But her academy transition was relatively harsh as well since the students all knew each other and she was the outcast from another village related to a serial killer.

It was only a year and Akane still had not made one friend. She spent everyday by herself only because most of the students were afraid of her. Akane rarely would ever associate with anyone else. She did not mean to be threatening to others and the handful of students unaffected by her affiliation scared Akane out of intimidation.

So, Akane sat in her usual seat at the left side of the room against the wall and waited for the other students to arrive and class would start. She needed this day to perfect the technique she would have to use to pass the exam tomorrow.

All was quiet at the moment until Akane heard a slight disturbance growing louder and coming closer. As the voices approached, she realized that it was two girls bickering at one another much like they did every day. The two girls appeared at the doorway and tried to push each other out of the way for one to get in the door first.

"Ino, you pig!" the pink haired girl of the two cried.

"Watch where you're going, Billboard Forehead!" the blonde one, given the name Ino, snapped back.

The two girls entered the room at the same time and immediately seated themselves at opposite sides of the room where they continued their skirmish of insults and everyone was unfortunately caught in the crossfire.

Akane lowered her face in her arms that were crossed on her desk and she groaned because she was not in the mood for their attitudes. They would always throw a fit if she ever tried to stop either of them from annoying anyone else.

_Can't there just be one morning where they would both just shut up?_ Akane wished silently.

A student behind Akane made her ears twitch as they began talking about her and the sword she continuously wore strapped on her back.

"I wonder why the instructors let her bring that in the classroom. Does she get special privileges because she's a transfer from the Mist?" a boy's voice was heard even if it was in a whisper.

Another student joined the conversation and this time it was a girl, "Didn't you hear? She has the fastest progress from most kids in this class. She's only been in the academy for half a year and she might be one of the tops."

_They're jealous? Wow, I didn't even want the attention but it seems I can't help it!_ Akane lowered her face against her arms again.

A shiver ran up and down her back as an unwanted touch stroked her sword. Immediately, she stood up and spun around in time to knock the student's arm back and grasp his shirt.

"Don't ever touch that." Akane made no attempt to make a scene but made it clear that she was angered by the gesture.

"Geez, calm down you psycho," the boy attempted to pull her hands off his shirt, "I just wanted to see if it was real metal!"

Akane released him and turned away to avoid any more unwanted attention. "Of course it's real. Just don't touch it again," Akane warned as she sat back down.

The boy took this as a challenge and stood up to confront her again. "Oh, and what do you expect to do about it, Akane?"

Never backing down from challenges, Akane stepped up to him once again and put a hand on his shoulder. "Back off, please. If you want, I will fight you."

"You _are_ really cocky, y'know that?" the boy pushed Akane's hand off and pulled his other hand back into a fist.

Akane noticed this and looked at the boy in the eyes with a slight smirk. His fist pushed forward as she had predicted and she swiftly stepped to the side and grabbed a container of water sitting on a nearby student's desk.

The boy's punch had already been thrown out when he realized Akane was to the side of him. "How'd you get there?" he gasped before Akane dumped the water on him.

With one hand, she performed hand signs before she positioned her hand like she was going to blow a kiss. She blew out and the boy tried to stop her by throwing his hand out again. Before Akane could do anymore, another student watching from the side of them stopped her.

"Akane, leave him alone," a boy in a black fur lined gray parka motioned her to step back. The dog on the boy's head barked once and Akane immediately pushed herself away from the student that tried to attack her.

"Oh, sorry," Akane sat down at her seat and turned away from the two boys.

The boy that she was fighting with looked at his friends and snorted, "She's just a psycho." He put his hand on the desk and the other kids awed as they stared at him. "What?" He, too, looked at his own hand and yelped when he saw that three of his fingers were frozen together. "What the hell?"

The boy with the dog crawled over other desks and stopped in front Akane. She sneezed once before she looked up to see him standing in front of her.

"Hey Akane," the boy smiled. Akane stared at the red markings on his cheeks before sneezing again. "You know, you shouldn't get into fights with other students if you already have a bad reputation. Oh, by the way, my name is Kiba Inuzuka."

Akane tried to answer him again but only let out another sneeze. "I'm sorry, Kiba." She covered her mouth and stared at the ground. "I'm allergic to dogs."

Kiba watched as Akane moved away from him to another seat more towards the center of the room. There she could finally breathe and she relaxed herself again.

She put her head on her arms and watched the other students run around the room. Akane even listened to the students behind her trying to figure out how to defrost the kid's fingers.

"I can't believe I almost froze that kid. What the hell is wrong with me?" she whispered to herself.

"Hey, hey," a voice whispered from in front of her. Her nose did not twinge so she knew it wasn't Kiba again. "Akane," a boy in an orange jumpsuit stood in front of her, "I saw what you did to that one boy and I thought it was really cool. Maybe you could teach me sometime?"

Akane stared at the blonde kid's smiling face and it was comforting to her. All she did was get into a meaningless skirmish and attracted too much attention to her. Maybe the attention is what she needed to make a couple of friends.

"Really?" Akane's face started to form a smile as her head rose from the desk. "You're name is Naruto Uzumaki, right?"

The blonde boy nodded and smirked. "The one and only! I'm going to be the best ninja this village has ever seen, just you wait!" He laughed with a determined face.

His spirit reminded Akane of her when she told her parents that she would become a powerful ninja that people would look up to. She smiled a bit more and sat up straight.

"You don't think I'm weird or anything?" Akane nibbled on the edges of her thumbs. "No one actually talks to me in this class."

Naruto shook his head and seated himself on Akane's desk. "I don't see why anyone would think so. You were only in the academy a good amount of months after we already started and you're already qualified to become a Genin. I think that's pretty impressive. So, how do you do that technique with the ice?" Naruto leaned closer as if he did not want anyone else to hear.

Akane giggled, "Well, it's taken me a couple of years to master it so I don't know if –."

"Naruto!" a girl's voiced called.

Naruto turned around to face his younger sister that looked very similar to him so it was pretty obvious that they would be called the Uzumaki twins. The girl was Naruto's younger sister by a few seconds at the most.

"Nekkyo," Naruto sighed, "what's going on?"

Nekkyo grabbed his hand and pulled him by the wrist towards their seats. "Iruka is coming so we need to sit down!"

"Wait, Nekkyo, hold on!" Naruto tried to at least say goodbye to Akane but was busy with his sister.

Akane's smile disappeared into her normal emotionless expression. Her eyes lowered themselves to her desk top as she noticed Iruka walking in the door. He addressed the class and half the class greeted him back.

"I see we are alive and well this morning, huh?" The instructor skimmed through numerous papers in his hands. "I hope you all know now that tomorrow is the graduation exam for this class and I hope you will all pass easily."

Akane sat listening to Iruka explain the procedures for the exam as her eyes wandered around the classroom. She was always seated in the back rows because she preferred being away from the front. All of the students in front of her she could keep her eyes on; that's how she knew every student in the class. It was a habit of hers to watch others, learn their movements, and eventually learn their personalities.

She rarely turned behind her to see the last of the students in the room. When she did, she always realized that the looks of the others always seemed so different from the ones in front like they wanted to establish a firm superiority over the rest. It was mostly the boy from the Hyuga clan known as Neji and the Uchiha clan twins, Sasuke and Shizuka, which really intimidated her.

_Man_, Akane faced forward, _those three can give me the creeps sometimes_.

"Alright class," Iruka got everyone's attention, "it's time to go outside for some practice. Hurry up now!"

As ordered, all the students filed out of the classroom. Akane diligently followed the rest until Iruka grabbed her wrist and tugged her aside.

"You won't need your sword today, Akane," he smiled, "so feel free to leave it in the classroom." He watched as Akane hesitated for a moment and then grabbed her sword handle.

She looked around the room when the last student left. "Will it be safe in here?" Her tone was still unsure about leaving it.

"Akane, we've done this before. It won't kill you to leave it again." Iruka chuckled as he motioned Akane towards her desk. "Just leave it here and I'll have another instructor keep it safe."

Akane willingly left her sword at her desk and ran outside to meet the rest of the class to begin the day's training exercises. The outside was nice and warm without a cloud in the sky. Iruka motioned for everyone to gather towards him and he started explaining the training rules.

"Alright, we're having a friendly sparring match today with no other techniques besides the transformation, substitution, and clone techniques, okay? This is to build strength in our hand to hand combat skills. There will be other Chuunin officials observing the matches and will jump in when one of you has been knocked down three times."

Akane crossed her arms and scoffed. What do you think she had to do all the time to make sure she could even _lift _her sword, let alone swing it around in effective motions? Hand to hand combat was nothing more than a warm up exercise.

"Everyone partner up!" Iruka called as the class fanned out trying to find their opponents.

Akane gasped when she watched everyone partnering up all around her. She knew she would be one of the remaining few left. Her eyes searched for a potential partner but failed. Then her nose twitched and she sneezed when she turned and saw Kiba standing beside her.

"Need a partner?" he smirked. "It's okay, I'll even let Akamaru sit this one out." He patted the dog on the head and watched as it trotted over to a safe side of the yard beside a couple of instructors. "Besides, I need a bit of hand to hand training."

Akane found it unfair that she was specialized in this specific skill and nodded accepting Kiba's request. They both took fighting stances and waited for Iruka to give the cue to start.

Kiba chuckled through his teeth, "I'm not going to go easy on you because you're a girl." He saw that the last few people retrieved their partners.

Akane smirked, "You boys think that we girls are inferior, don't you? I wasn't asking you to go easy on me anyway." She watched as Iruka stuck his hand in the air. "You'll be surprised by my abilities."

All of the students took their fighting stances and glowered at their opponents. Iruka brought his hand down and announced to begin sparring. The students all leapt at once for one another and the chaos began.

Kiba started by stepping first. Akane stepped forward and performed a simple push kick that would've knocked Kiba on his back if he had not cartwheeled onto his hands and feet.

"Thought you had me, didn't you?" Kiba smirked as he stood back up and cracked his knuckles.

Akane expected the reaction from him and shook her head. "Of course not, I know you knew better than that." She shrugged with her head and one of her shoulders in the same direction.

He cocked an eyebrow in question as he stepped forward and threw a flurry of punches at Akane. She easily blocked, dodged, or redirected his hands in rapid succession of the other.

"What do you mean by that?" Kiba asked when he was close enough to Akane's face only to be pushed back by another kick.

She straightened herself out and sighed loudly, "What I mean is that I observe the way you fight and I realize that a simple push kick like mine won't knock you to your back so easily."

He wondered silently to himself for a moment and looked back at Akane with a smirk. "So, you're a stalker?"

Akane made a horrified face and clenched her hands into fists. "No! I am not a stalker! I just happen to observe people's weak and strong points!"

"I bet that is just your excuse." Kiba laughed as he pointed towards Akane and shook his head. "You have to come up with something better than that!"

Infuriated by his talk, Akane launched herself at the boy and tackled him. Having him firm in her grip and added force to knock him to ground, she was sure that the first take down was hers. She was confident up to the point until Kiba flipped them over and she was the one to hit the ground first.

The nearest instructor called the first take down to Kiba and Akane quickly jumped back up to her feet ready to take things a bit more seriously.

"Thought you had me _then_, didn't you?" Kiba mocked her with the same words he had used before.

She chuckled softly and strengthened her glance at Kiba. "Of course not, I knew you had the upper hand. I was just angry."

Kiba made the first step forward again and she looked at his feet then towards the swaying of his body. Akane dodged to one side and delivered a roundhouse kick to his mid-stomach sending him skidding across the ground with his back. She hovered over him as the instructors called the take down to her.

"I'll give you credit on that one. You caught me off guard," Kiba smirked and nodded as Akane helped him up, "but don't expect me to let you do that again."

"I didn't plan on it." Akane retaliated as she released Kiba's arm when he got back to his feet.

Kiba and Akane faced each other again feeling a string of tension being tied around them both. She was first to move this time by throwing a kick towards Kiba's face but missed as he easily ducked and went for an attack to Akane's jaw. She blocked his fist and threw it back before taking a step away from him to create a gap between them.

The two parried for a majority of the sparring. Occasionally, one of them would get in a hit but it would do nothing to knock the other to the ground. Becoming too focused on hand to hand based attacks, Akane and Kiba both forgot they were able to use such techniques as substitution and clone.

After about fifteen minutes, the instructors ordered for the students to cease the sparring matches.

"Alright, respectfully honor your partners for being excellent ninja and return to the classroom as soon as possible. I have a few last minutes notes before your graduation tomorrow." Iruka notified the class and walked inside to wait for the students to enter.

Akane panted and turned to Kiba with a smirk as she straightened herself. "Thank you for the match, Kiba Inuzuka. Your close combat skills are truly formidable," she bowed in his direction.

Kiba copied her actions. "Same to you, Akane Momochi." He nodded as Akamaru jumped onto his shoulder from behind. "I always thought of you as a close combat person anyway. You really put up a challenging fight. It would be great if I could face you again."

He nodded once more before walking back with the class. Akane stared at him as he walked and smiled to herself. _I think I actually made a friend._

She started after him when she noticed the other students such as the Uchiha Twins and Neji Hyuga came walking in her direction. Quickly, she jumped out of the way to avoid having them send off an even harsh aura of dislike towards anyone. As the three passed by, Akane particularly studied their body language given off mostly by their gaits, hands, and facial expression.

_Angry, tense, bored or maybe just feeling unchallenged?_ Akane thought of the possible reasons for the three students' seemingly unchanged personalities.

After those three disappeared among the flood of kids, Akane swarmed back into the classroom trying to reach her desk as quickly as possible only to see that her sword had not moved an inch.

She sighed in relief and sat down to quietly pay attention as Iruka began explaining again for the exams.

"Tell us what we have to test on, Iruka sensei!" A student cried out.

The cry started a whole debate where every student was involved trying to convince Iruka to spill the test. He lowered his arms signaling the class to quiet down and smirked.

"Sorry, kids but I have no say in this until tomorrow," he chuckled, "so until then, practice and sleep well tonight."

Iruka then excused everyone and they rushed out of the classroom as different conversations formed into one inaudible uproar. Akane demanded a perimeter around herself so others would not accidentally cut themselves on the Guillotine.

"Hey Akane," she heard a familiar voice over the crowd.

She stepped to the side to avoid the flowing traffic and noticed that Naruto and Nekkyo were calling and waving to her. Her face looked puzzled and she stepped back when they finally caught up with her.

"Hey, so I was wondering if you could teach me that technique since we have time now that we are out of class." Naruto stroked the back of his head and chuckled with a smile hoping for Akane to teach him.

Akane was flattered but shook her head opposing the offer. "I'm sorry Naruto. I have places to be right now. Maybe some other time when I'm not busy?" She waved at the twins and ran off into the crowd.

She exited the academy doors, looked towards the sky, and sighed. The fact that she had to lie to Naruto about the technique bugged her. She swore to Haku that she would never teach anyone the jutsu even if they were her friends. Even then, it took Akane four years to master it.

Akane started walking through Konoha, staring at the buildings and expanding her knowledge of the geography. She had only been here for at least a year and there was still so much she had to find. It was a quiet village. Nothing huge has happened lately that caused uproar – but Akane was happy here.

When she looked around, she saw smiling children and happy families. In the Mist village, she saw nothing but broken faces and dreams. It was an uplifting feeling. The only thing keeping her from fitting in was the tense gazes of other villagers that knew of her affiliations.

* * *

Lame end o.o So sorry. I never really planned on spiltting it into chapters much xD Alrighty then, as you could've guessed Naruto doesn't have a younger twin sister and Sasuke doesn't have a twin sister... I forgot if she was older than him xD Haha. My friend, pen name Razorgaze, had a fic including Shizuka but I think she took it off. Oooh, she's got an awesome Transformers fic going on. SERIOUSLY... Check it out!


	3. Confrontation

w00t! Another fast chapter. And a short chapter at that xD Probably one of the few shortest. Eh, I'm not good at breaking this into chapters as I mentioned in the previous chapter... I never meant it to break into chapter anyway. Haha. But I can deal with it. I'll rollll with it.  
Anyway, enjoy! R&R

* * *

As she continued on, a small girl beside Akane caught her attention when she started crying. Akane noticed there were two boys holding a doll and holding it above the girl's head out of her reach.

"Give it back to me!" The girl jumped for the doll but she was obviously too short to reach it and continued crying.

The boys laughed at her futile attempts and held the doll even higher. "Let's see you get it now!" one of the boys smirked.

Akane sighed as she turned to them and put her hands on her hips. "Hey, why don't you leave that poor girl alone? Just give her back the doll," she ordered calmly but with a stern tone.

The boys just laughed again. "And what are you going to do about it?" the other boy spat back.

Akane thought back to the boy at the academy and remembered to avoid another confrontation like that. "Give her the doll!" She reached for the girl's toy but the boys pulled it out of her reach. Again, she reached for the doll with much more speed and successfully pulled it away from the boys and they fell onto the ground.

"What was that for? We were only playing!" the boys whined.

She shrugged, "That will teach you for being little punks!" Akane shooed the boys away and looked back at the girl with a smile. "Here's your doll."

Without warning, a woman stepped in between Akane and the small girl with a scowl and she ripped the doll from Akane's hand. "Leave my daughter alone!" The woman looked back at the girl, handed her the doll, and pulled her down the street.

Akane stared at them – wondering what she did wrong. She looked to see who was around her but everyone seemed to avoid looking directly at her. Disappointed, she sulked on with her head hanging low and approached the forest where she could spar with herself for a couple of hours.

After traveling far enough through trees and over rocks, she found her usual training spot situated by a small lake that lay silently still. She leaned her sword against a tree and she kneeled at the edge of the water.

_I can do this. I haven't learned very much of the Konoha techniques but I can pass. I know I can! _Akane told herself as she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

She jumped to her feet and clapped her hands together as she made a channeling hand sign. Her chakra flow was directed towards her feet and with a bit more concentration she stepped forward towards the water. As her foot touched the water's surface, she stayed above it. Her feet did not sink and she just as easily walked across. On the other side, she exhaled loudly and inhaled as she ran back across the lake to where she started to retrieve her sword.

"Now that my warm up is over, I think I'll step it up a bit more." Akane cracked her neck and stepped onto the water again.

She held the sword a certain way across her back and she used her free hand for hand signs. She began the sign sequence that began to churn the water below her with chakra but only finished half way through when her acute hearing happened to pick up the sound of people talking.

The water grew calm again and she stood upright to end her technique then crossed the lake before quietly moving towards the sound. Akane had always been too curious for her own good and this moment was no exception.

The two voices grew louder as she walked closer and she became a little more alert. She quieted her footsteps and breathing as she came up behind a tree where she heard the two voices clearly.

"We'll pass the test tomorrow with no problem." A female's voice spoke firmly from the other side of the tree.

The other replied after cracking a body part with a stretch, "I never doubted it, Shizuka."

Akane listened quietly for a few seconds longer and pressed her back against the tree a little more but her foot slipped against the grass. She slid onto her rear and she let out a short yelp of surprise and she gasped realizing the two had obviously heard her. Slowly, she looked up to be greeted by the two infamous glares of the Uchiha twins.

She raised her hand slowly and let out a nervous chuckle, "Hey guys, I didn't mean to spy on you and all, I just never knew anyone else was ever out here."

The two stared at her a bit longer and the silence made Akane hurt more than having her be physically harmed. Realizing that neither of them would make an attempt to speak, Akane jumped to her feet to bow in apology.

She stood up straight and rubbed the back of her head uncertainly. "Uh, so do you guys live here?" Akane's second shot at trying to spark a conversation was just as easily turned down as the first.

The female of the two, Shizuka, tightened her glare a bit more sending a shiver up Akane's spine. "Alright, I take it that you two _do_ live here. In that case, I think I'll be going so I don't bother anyone again. Oh, and sorry again about the intrusion, if I didn't say it enough already."

Shizuka's brother, Sasuke, lowered his arms from his chest and slipped his hands into his pockets. "This land is part of the Uchiha compound. You're trespassing here." He spoke with a tone that almost seemed angered by her presence.

Akane chuckled again. "Okay, okay, I got it. I already told you that I apologize for this whole misunderstanding. There's is no need for any hostilities now."

She rolled her eyes and took a step forward but Shizuka stepped in her way. Their eyes met and that same aura Akane felt when she was around the Uchiha twins became heavy. Akane was more surprised at the act but the Uchiha kept her glare.

"Don't you ever roll your eyes at us again!" Shizuka pushed herself into Akane's face to get the message across. "You better learn how to show some respect towards someone that is letting you off the hook for trespassing!"

Akane stepped back and lowered her eyes to meet a similar glare. "Okay, I'm sorry! How many times do I have to apologize before I can just leave? I already get the picture that I'm not welcome here!"

The Uchiha scoffed and turned away from her. "Just get out of here; I wouldn't want you to get at the top of my most annoying list."

Could it be? Did Akane here a challenge from someone? As much as Akane was curious, she was angered just as easily. Her feet were positioned in the ground and she placed a hand on her sword.

"Shizuka, I see you in class all the time. Do you and your brother have some sort of sense that you are better than everyone else?" Akane began to chuckle softly before she came to laugh loudly as Shizuka merely stared in contained amazement. "Oh, that can't be it, can it? I mean, I could be on par with you. Think about it, I was the new girl from the Mist Village with no primary formal academy training and here I am in your class. I've skipped maybe half the year but I am still qualified to graduate to Genin tomorrow. What do you say you put your skills against my sword?" A smirk formed on her lips, courtesy of Zabuza, thinking that she would be able to face one of the more experienced students in class.

Shizuka smirked as well and met Akane's eyes telepathically telling her that she agreed to the challenge but Sasuke stepped in and separated the two. Akane stared at the much shorter boy that reached only to about her nose which made her laugh on the inside.

"Leave now, Akane," he ordered with hateful eyes.

Akane's hand moved from her sword handle to her hip and she sighed. "I'd be glad too." She bowed almost mockingly towards him before she started walking back to the lake she started at.

Akane turned around once more to see Shizuka's face that wore a smile as if she felt victorious. Akane chuckled and faced forward again. "Don't think that your brother stopped anything. I'll be waiting for a chance to fight you," she noted before listening to the silence of the Uchiha twins.

At the moment of her reply, Shizuka's smile lowered to a scowl hiding immanent anger in seconds. The two Uchihas returned to what they had been doing before and left Akane to escort herself from the compound.

Kicking at the ground, Akane growled to herself and balled her hands into fists as if she wanted to hit the next person to walk in her way._ Who does Shizuka think she is? I'll show her how to respect others! I knew she was the reserved type but I had no idea she could be that cocky too!_ She growled again as she came upon her house where she removed her shoes at the door and leaned her sword against the wall on the inside.

* * *

This chapter pricks at the surface of Akane's "sense" that helps her deduce how others act. Shizuka also helps a great deal with Akane's... Well, we'll get to that later XD  
So, Akane has met the Uchihas on their home turf. What is in store next? O.O Ooooohhhh.....


	4. Family

Even shorter. Haha XD They seem to be getting like that. Well, it's a little build-up. I hope to get a little bit of action going in the next few chapters.  
So, enjoy and R&R please.  
And I apologize if the chapters are coming at rapid speed o.o It's a cross between impatience and irritation. Haha.

* * *

"Mom, Dad, I'm home," she called as she stretched and walked through the front hallway to find her parents in the garden area of their backyard.

A woman with charcoal black hair and pale colored eyes was kneeling at the edge of a flower bed tending to the soil while a muscular man, looking no older than his twenties, with pale white colored hair carried sacks of fertilizer and a flower pot on his shoulder began walking towards Akane.

The woman turned to see Akane standing beside her. "Akane, darling, we almost thought you wouldn't be home in time for dinner. Aren't you usually training late on these days?" Her mother greeted her with a warm smile and stood up to embrace her daughter.

Her father placed the items in his arms on the floor and he chuckled as he stared at the two. "Aw, my girl is growing up nice and strong now! Hah! I bet you're at the top of your class! I wouldn't be surprised that my daughter would be with the best! No sir, no one can beat my daughter! Your teachers be damned if they don't pass you on the Genin exam tomorrow!" He usually went off on rants and answered the question of Akane's hidden personality.

Akane laughed at her father and looked back to her mother; she being too silent to be noticed at times. It made Akane wonder how her loud, exuberant father met such a timid, quiet woman. One would guess that that is also how Akane got her antisocial bit.

"Hiroki, calm down now, I'm sure Akane is fully aware that she will have to take the Genin exam. We both know you can do it, dear." Her mother's smiles always made Akane smile right back at her.

Her father, Hiroki, scratched the back of his head out of embarrassment. "Well, I can't help but be excited for her, Sayu! I mean, she earned her way up the ladder so fast! We should definitely celebrate her becoming a Genin when she gets home tomorrow!" Hiroki danced about his thoughts on how to go about the event.

Akane's mother, addressed as Sayu, chuckled softly and put a hand on Akane's shoulder. "What do you think about your father's little scheme? Does it sound like fun?"

Akane's smile grew wider and she nodded her head furiously before she yelled out in absolute excitement. "Dad, I can't wait now! I'm going to train long and hard before the test tomorrow and I'll pass with flying colors! You'll see! I'll make you proud! Can we have lots of sweets and desserts! You know how I love that so much!"

Hiroki only agreed back with a laugh and he put an arm over Akane's shoulder. "She's definitely my daughter, Sayu. She may have your looks but she's got my spirit."

Sayu, the fairest woman, and Hiroki, the ever charismatic man, both made a new meaning to the phrase, "opposites attract."

Hiroki chuckled again. "Alright Akane, go slip into some fresh clothes and clean yourself up. Your mother and I will have dinner set when you are done." He nudged Akane in towards her room and released her arm as she ran into the house.

Sayu's soft smile turned into a concerned frown and she placed her head on her husband's shoulder. "Hiroki, do you really think Akane has not been corrupted by Zabuza? After all, your brother did spend six years with her. Was it wrong for us to let her join the academy?"

Hiroki rubbed his wife's back and sighed as his personality changed dramatically. "I don't know. Akane is strong willed and this is what she wanted to do. She is in no way a demon like my brother is. I know she will not end up like him." He assured Sayu with a confident smile.

From the safety of the house, Akane stood out of sight listening to them. She heard their words and cried silently to herself as she walked towards her room. _They can't be serious. Are they scared – scared of me?_

Later that night, Akane finished cleaning up and eating dinner before she locked herself in her room. Seeing that her room was the only one on the second floor, she had the most privacy.

Her head leaned against her arms as she stared out of her window and sighed as she finished her crying. The moon was bright above Konoha but the sight was definitely significant on her part. The moon gave her strength, it gave her hope. Usually she would train at night under the watchful eyes of the white orb.

"I'm not giving up on becoming a ninja because my parents don't want me too. I'm not going to give up for anything. I'm going to pass the test. I'm going to get stronger." Akane closed her eyes telling herself reassuring phrases and drifted to sleep as she softly continued to mutter more comforting words.

* * *

So now we've met hyperactive Hiroki Momochi, brother of Zabuza Momochi, and timid, little Sayu Momochi. Akane's personality hasn't really come through yet and hopefully will begin to shine soon enough.


	5. Exception

Mwahaha! Another fast chapter... Grrr. I'm eventually going to catch up with myself and they'll start coming slower each week or so. Well, enjoy the new chapter! R&R  
Short and sweet little foot note, I guess... Hmm, not sweet. Gosh, expressions! O.O

* * *

The next morning, Akane was up earlier than the sunrise. With a smirk on her face, she stood on the roof of her home waiting for the sun to peak over the village gates. She had been waiting for at least an hour now.

At the first sight of the yellow rays, Akane jumped off the roof and high into the air. Her sword reflected a beam of light back at the sun. "Today is the day!" she yelled into the sky with a hearty laugh before she landed back on the ground and sped straight for the academy.

Konoha was so soundless at the early minutes of dawn. The only thing catching Akane's ears were the sounds of birds chirping in the trees she dashed by.

Being the first to class, Akane waited outside the classroom for the rest of her class mates to show up.

_Maybe I overdid it?_ She giggled softly to herself. _Oh well, I can't help it. I finally get to become a ninja today!_

A couple more hours passed and more students began to arrive. More and more kids entered the doors and Akane began to hear the din of the students talking back and forth across the room. Iruka was even in the room asking the others to settle down. There were enough kids in the class for her to enter so Akane approached the classroom and went to slide open the door.

As her hand touched the door, two blurs of blue caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She turned to meet the eyes of both Shizuka and Sasuke Uchiha who were walking down the hallway towards the room. The closer they got, the more Akane just wanted to snap at them with a comment of disgust. She knew better than that and decided to suck it up as she held the door open for the two of them.

The two said nothing as they entered which angered Akane for their lack of decency. She followed in after them and took her normal seat on one side of the room. The students around her almost seemed to be repelled by some invisible force; the barrier was most likely created by her confrontation with the boy yesterday.

Akane didn't care. It was perfect if no one decided to bug her. Her eyes wandered about the class staring at the others hoping to pass the time as quickly as possible.

Before Akane could watch anyone else, Iruka came into the room holding a few folders with papers inside of them. He ordered everyone to have a seat and stay quiet. "I'm going to call everyone individually into the testing room to perform the Clone technique. Everyone will have to make at least one perfect clone to pass the test," Iruka explained only to get a reply of moans, groans, and cheers.

_Regular clones!_ Akane gasped._ I'm not good with that technique at all! It's maybe the only technique I didn't get!_

Iruka left into the back room and called the first student down. Akane sat in a cloud of doubt about her percentage of passing. It was almost slim to none seeing as she could not make one simple clone but can make at least three water clones and numerous mist clones with ease.

Akane waited silently for her name to be called and she listened to the conversations around her about how well the other students thought they were going to do. They were making her feel a lot more nervous then she wanted to be. Most of the students were more than confident about their standings and the rest were uncertain.

_How could one simple clone technique bring me from one of the top to the bottom in less than a second?_ Akane wanted to bash her head against her desk in frustration but maintaining an image of sanity restrained her from doing so.

It was quiet at the moment until Akane felt an unwanted touch stroke the back of her sword _again_. Feeling that it was the boy from the other day, she immediately turned around, grabbed the boy's neck, and pushed him into the wall.

"Whoa, Akane, I didn't mean to startle you like that!" Naruto held his hands up in his own defense.

Akane loosened her grip on his neck and calmed to her normal tone. "Oh, Naruto? I thought you were the boy that bugged me yesterday. Sorry about –."

"Naruto!" Nekkyo interrupted and ran to Naruto's side. "What are you doing to my brother?" She pulled Akane's hand off of his shirt collar and pushed her back. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Akane shook her head hoping to persuade Nekkyo that she was not causing harm. "No, you have it all wrong. I wasn't trying to –."

Another student saw this and decided to step in. "Hey Momochi, why don't you just leave the other students alone. You get into a fight almost every day with a different person!" The comment came from the girl of the Lee siblings across the room.

Nekkyo turned to the girl and replied, "Kohana, we can handle this on our own." She waited for Kohana Lee to sit back down beside her brother.

"Listen, I'm not trying to make enemies. Naruto just startled me and I had a reflex, that's all." Akane kept her tone low to avoid getting the wrong emotion across.

She avoided anymore talk and sat down at her desk again before staring out of the window. Nekkyo dragged Naruto away from her and they sat at their original seats.

Iruka entered the room again and called another name – Akane's name. Her heart sank to her feet and she took a deep breath before getting up and walking silently down to the testing room secluded by a simple door.

She shut the door behind her and the room was silent. Every ounce of noise was shut out and left behind in the classroom. Akane swallowed hard and sighed as she faced the three Chuunin instructors sitting at a table in front of her.

The instructors wrote down Akane's name and opened up her personal information file. They talked amongst themselves for a moment before they paused and stared at Akane.

Iruka was the only one to speak. "Akane Momochi, please demonstrate for us the Clone technique." He raised a pencil to a clipboard and waited for Akane to show them the technique.

Akane hesitated and her eyes darted about the room. She bit her lower lip but silently gasped when she noticed a pitcher of water on the desk of the instructors. A string of hope was formed and hopefully the others would accept.

"May I create a water clone instead, Iruka sensei?" Akane bowed to the table of Chuunin. "I will not lie when I say that I can not make a regular clone."

Iruka was not surprised to hear this from a former Mist villager and confirmed the ordeal with the others. He gave her a nod and a smile formed on her face.

Immediately, she took her stance on the floor and performed the necessary hand signs before taking control of the water in the pitcher to form a clone beside her. There was only enough for one so she relaxed and watched as the clone mimicked her moves.

The instructors applauded her and talked to each other about the results. The silver haired instructor, known as Mizuki, was eyeing Akane from where he sat once Iruka had finished talking with him.

"For the most part Akane, you did spectacular. Never has a Leaf shinobi been able to pull off a water clone at academy student level!" Iruka showered her with comments and praise.

Mizuki, on the other hand, found a flaw in her technique. "Akane, you could only make one clone because of the lack of water in the room, right?" He asked only to receive a small nod from her. "If there were more access points for water, would you have made more clones?" Again, he received only a nod. "What would happen if you were not in an area where you could get water? How would you be able to conjure a water clone? Better yet, how would you be able to perform any techniques at all seeing as most of your special techniques are water based?"

Akane stood there speechless and almost shaking. Most of her was saying that she had no chance of passing in the first place. The tiny string that gave her hope was shattered within a couple of sentences by Mizuki.

"Mizuki, give her a break. How many of our students can pull off a move like that? Besides, she is also a skilled hand-to-hand combat fighter. If she has no way of performing techniques, she always has her strength to back her up." Iruka defended her with every intention of passing her as Genin.

Mizuki was not about to lose the debate. The other instructor leaned back in his seat as the other two leaned towards each other. "She was forced here from the Hidden Mist Village and she trained under Zabuza Momochi. What do you expect? Of course she was going to know how to conjure a water clone."

Iruka shooed Mizuki away with his hand and looked back at Akane with his arms folded across his chest. He gave her a stern look and Akane shivered thinking about her results.

"Akane Momochi," Iruka called her attention.

Akane straightened herself and bowed. "Yes, Iruka sensei?"

"Seeing that you were unable to create a normal clone but showed us that you could still make a clone by using water instead, I believe you are ready to prove yourself as a ninja to Konoha. You are now a Genin!" He smiled and picked up a headband off the table.

She ran to retrieve it from his hands and stared at it for more than a minute before the instructors had to shoo her out of the testing room for others.

It was too good to be true! She had finally become a Hidden Leaf shinobi. It was her first goal in becoming a great ninja.

Akane ran her fingers over the smooth blue cloth, in which she would use to tie the band, and smiled as she walked out into the courtyard with the other students that had already tested. She seated herself further away from the others so she could stare at her reflection in the metal plate engraved with the Konoha symbol.

_I guess this means that I'm no longer a part of the Hidden Mist Village_, her smile turned into a frown and she saw her uncle in the reflection that was supposed to be her. _Don't think I have forgotten you, Uncle Zabuza._

Her eyes wandered ahead of her and she noticed the Uchiha siblings standing side by side in a silence and they looked at one another in a telepathic form of communication.

Remembering when neither of the two Uchiha twins thanked her or even acknowledged that she performed a polite gesture towards them, she stood up and approached the twins with a firm strut.

Akane stopped in front of Shizuka and stared down at her seeing as she was the same height as her brother. She sighed and inhaled deeply before putting a smile on her face and crossing her arms.

"So, I see you passed with no problems." Akane meant no fouls in congratulating them.

Shizuka stared at her for a moment in silence before looking to her brother. Sasuke turned away almost the instant that Akane looked at him. She groaned feeling unwelcome again and rubbed her forehead.

"Quit it with the innocent act, Momochi." Shizuka smirked and shut her eyes as she leaned against the wall behind her. "I can tell you forced yourself to come over here."

Akane restrained herself from applauding Shizuka's reply. "You actually spoke back when I talked to you. Congratulations on that too." Akane meant every word to be caustic. "I expected no less of you seeing as you two are one of the few higher students."

Shizuka avoided opening her eyes as her brother avoided talking in general. "Your attitude is just the same. Congratulations on remaining a snippy –."

Akane held up her hand to stop her mid-sentence. "Whoa, hold on there. I'm not trying to start anything. Can't I congratulate a few of my class mates?"

A silent tension grew in between them as Akane waited for an answer.

Shizuka opened her eyes and looked straight into Akane's eyes. "You lack respect for others and you don't even realize when you're doing it. That's why I've lessened respect for you." The Uchiha smirked and shook her head. "You're still looking for a fight with me. Aren't you?"

Akane laughed and put her hands on her hips. "You already read me like a book." She waited for a "who couldn't" come back from the Uchiha but it was not received on cue. "You know, as the Mist Village form of Genin examinations, the whole class would fight each other to the death. The last few students go on to be Genin. My uncle was the first to kill everyone in his class and so the instructors decided to end that form of exam."

Akane waited again for another comment but received nothing but a scowl and glare from Shizuka. "Was that supposed to intimidate me?" She appeared as if she wanted to laugh but, of course, it was much too out of character for her – with as much as Akane assumed about her.

Akane looked at the ground and sighed. "No, not at all, that was just a little history lesson for you Konoha ninja. Hey, I'll apologize again for the incident yesterday and I can say now that you are different then what I had expected. Sorry, it's a tendency of mine." She crossed her arms again and began to walk away. "I'll be seeing you later Uchiha."

She listened carefully for at least a formal goodbye remark from her and sighed in a defeated manner.

"See ya," Shizuka replied and turned away.

Akane stopped and stared at the ground. She wanted to turn around and wave but she shook it off with a smile and walked to her first spot near the entrance to the academy.

She watched as more students began to exit the building and swarm into the yard. Labeling the students as they passed gave her a way to pass time waiting for Iruka to call everyone back into the room.

Then Akane saw the Uzumaki twins step outside. Nekkyo held her brother as he stared at the ground following her to a spot they could sit at away from the crowd.

_Despair…I can see it._ Akane slowly approached the two of them and kneeled beside them.

Nekkyo flashed angry eyes at the Momochi and looked back to her brother. "What do you want? If you're going to taunt him, then go away!"

Akane took a step back as neither of them decided to look at her. "I was just wondering if you needed someone to talk to." She rubbed the back of her neck in uncertainty.

"We don't you need your help! Why don't you leave us alone?" Nekkyo snapped and waited to hear Akane walking away. As Nekkyo ordered, Akane left without saying another word.

Iruka stood in the doorway of the academy and called the students to attention as he spoke. "The Genin testing is finished for today. Congratulations to those who passed and I expect to see you all again tomorrow. Those who have not passed will be asked to join another Chuunin in a different classroom for the day. You are dismissed and we will see you tomorrow."

Everyone cheered hearing we were being let out a few hours earlier. Akane walked among the crowd trying to be free of the limited space until Kiba grabbed her shoulder and pulled her aside.

"I see you passed, Akane." He smirked as Akamaru barked from on top of his head. "Did the teachers give you any trouble after you performed the technique?"

Akane stretched silently thanking him that she was out of that mess and smiled. "Yeah, I see you passed too. Well, I almost didn't pass because I can't do a clone technique. They let me slide after I did a water clone." She shrugged and crossed her arms.

Kiba chuckled and pet Akamaru. "Hey, I wish I could do a water clone. Consider yourself lucky then. What are you doing after this?" He put his hands on his hips and listened for an answer.

She searched her thoughts and shrugged again. "I was just going to meet up with my parents. They are probably planning this big dinner for me. I thought I could help with that."

Kiba nodded and scratched the back of his head. "Ah, I was going to ask if maybe you wanted to go around Konoha or something. I could show you around. I know that you don't have much geography knowledge of the village yet."

She giggled, "Yeah, thank you for offering. We can do this some other time though. I really would like a nice tour with someone who won't get lost."

Kiba saluted Akane with two fingers. "Alright, well, just tell me when you can and I'll see you around." He dashed off into the crowd and waved to Akane as he did so.

She simply waved back and looked around to see virtually no one around her and started for the heavily forested area. The metal headband in her hands was lifted to where she could see it. She saw herself in the reflection again only to see it change into the image of Zabuza. Quickly, she tied it around her waist and pressed on.

* * *

And there you go! I'm happy to see people are at least looking at my story. I'm a bit shy when it comes to sharing my writing. It's one of those inferiority complexes o.o Hmm, geez I'm such a baby. I will stray from the habit soon enough. It's like giving myself a little intervention. Le gasp!

Oh yes, and another OC has arisen. Kohana Lee. Kohana Lee is obviously Rock Lee's sister. I'm not sure about who's older and what-not XD  
So, anyway, I'm not sure what's up with all the sister OCs but my friends made them and I love them for it ^^ Hopefully, you're not tired with them Dx Again, I have plans with them in the future!


	6. Return

I was saving this for awhile even though this was already typed out when the second chapter was posted O.O Haha, anyway, like I say every chapter, enjoy! R&R

* * *

It was quiet – almost as if time had stopped. There was no breeze, there were no animals running around. Akane walked through a line of trees and stepped into a shaded area. It felt uneasy without the sounds of nature so she stopped and looked around.

The feeling only grew when she realized she was completely alone and set her sword against a tree to calm her nerves from the eerie aura. She shut her eyes and inhaled deeply only to slowly open them and stare at the reflection in her sword.

She smiled seeing her headband around her waist but scowled afterwards thinking of the life she used to have. Akane's eyes met her reflection once more and she gasped as another image of Zabuza appeared – beside her.

"Hello, Akane."

It was as if she were looking upon a ghost – staring at Zabuza. Her heart sank to her feet and her knees almost failed to keep her upright. She was neither thrilled nor afraid to see him. It was almost as if she were waiting for him to find her again.

A chuckle slipped through her uncle's lips and he stepped forward towards his niece. "What's the matter, Akane? You don't look very happy to see me."

Akane fiddled with her fingers as she waited to come up with a reply. "I haven't seen you since you gave me my sword." Her eyes remained on her feet. "What are you doing here?"

Zabuza put his hand under her chin and lifted her face to gaze upon his. "What? I can't visit my only niece? You were taken away from me and I've only begun to teach you what I know." He scanned the area for anybody else and crossed his arms. His eyes skimmed over Akane and stopped at her waist. "What is that?" He pointed at her.

She lowered her head and looked at the metal headband tied around her. Akane silently tried to answer back but was stopped as Zabuza backhanded her across the face.

"WHAT IS THAT, AKANE?" He began to yell as he demanded an explanation.

With Zabuza's strength, Akane had fallen to the ground on her side. She crawled a bit hoping to avoid being struck again. "It's a Leaf headband!" she cried out and covered her face with her arms in a futile defense. "Uncle, I had to join…an academy so I could become stronger while I was away from you!"

Her uncle laughed in disbelief and took a step towards her. "No Akane," she saw his eyes lower in a glare, "you've become weak! Look at yourself, cowering on your knees in my presence! You're just like a dog with its tail between its legs!" He growled and bent down to project his voice at her. "Stand up! Stand like you still have some dignity left in you, girl!"

Akane gasped hearing that her uncle had degraded her to where he would no longer speak her name. "Girl? Uncle, please –."

"I said stand! The Leaf Village has done nothing more than made you weak! You are no niece of mine!" Zabuza's rage made her cringe and tempted her to cry.

Akane stood as she was told and kept her arms tight at her side. Her head hung low to avoid eye contact with him and she remained silent until she was spoken to.

"Remember when I was your mentor back in the Mist Village?" He received a small silent nod from his niece beside him. "Do you remember how I used to punish you when you failed to correctly perform a technique?"

Her eyes widened and she lifted her head knowing that her uncle would punish her in the same manner again. "What have I done? The only way for me to become stronger was to –."

"Return to the Mist Village!" Zabuza interrupted yet again and raised his sword to her neck. "You want to know what you did. You betrayed the whole village! You were going to save the Mist Village from the Mizukage's tyranny! Since I was unable to kill him, you were going to fulfill my legacy if I could not!" He swung his sword at Akane but she easily dodged to the side. He chuckled deeply and motioned his hand at the ground in a circular movement. "Turn around Akane."

Her feet hesitated but she did as she was told and faced her back to him. She shut her eyes tightly and clenched her hands into fists as she waited for her punishment.

"This is the first lesson I ever taught you. If you remember it, recite it to me." He raised the sword to her back and watched Akane nod.

Her whole body shivered and she spoke softly, "Mind over pain."

He congratulated her with a chuckle. "Well done, Akane. I knew you would remember that. I hope you also remember the first rule is not to scream." Zabuza waited for a few minutes before delivering his punishment only to watch Akane wear herself down in fear of when it would begin.

This trial has been very rare to her within the last few years. He had done this more when she was beginning to learn his techniques so many years ago. It has been as long as two years since she had last had to deal with this situation and always she was afraid.

Zabuza took a step forward, pressing the point of the blade against her back. "Mind over pain, Akane." Then he pushed the sword enough to break the outer layer of her skin releasing little amounts of blood.

Akane released a short yelp of pain and fell to her hands and knees.

Disappointed by the results, Zabuza growled and leaned forward for her to hear. "That was not the reaction I was looking for. I know you can take more pain then that!" He thrust the blade deeper hearing Akane shriek in agony. "Akane, you weakling!" The blade entered even further and she began to cough up blood.

When he pushed the blade again, her lips quivered but never parted. The fear of having him kill her kept her from yelling again. Zabuza released the sword but ceased to pull it out.

He walked beside her and kneeled by her ear. "Have you had enough? Do you understand your current position?" Akane answered with a soft whimper. "Tell me, are you afraid of me? Have you ever feared death?"

His niece shook her head before saying, "When you first decided to train me, I was never afraid. If it meant becoming a ninja, I was willing to have you kill me if I was not fit. I don't fear you…I fear your power and I was afraid you would use that power to kill me because I seemed so worthless."

He stood back up and snickered before breaking into a fit of laughter. "What a perfect answer that was! That is why I chose you to fulfill my legacy, Akane. I knew you had potential." He slid the sword from her back and easily flung the blood from the metal with one simple swipe.

As he rested the blade upon his shoulder, he called her attention. "Akane, this torment is only half of what it should be. I should do something worse to make you really suffer. It would be more along the lines of a test to see what you will do. Stand up."

She scrambled to her feet and kept straight as Zabuza paced in front of her lightly tapping his sword on his shoulder. He threw her sword at her feet and she quickly strapped it to its holster. Akane reached back to readjust the sword and cringed feeling the cold steel touch her still-bleeding wound. Though she could not show it, she could not deny that is was there either.

Her eyes scrolled over to Zabuza as he stopped to the side of her and stared through the trees into the village that was not far from their current location. "Your parents – it's their fault that you were taken from me! I should punish them instead! They will learn never to mess around with what I want!"

"What are you going to do, Uncle?" Akane stepped forward only to have Zabuza jump onto a tree branch above her.

He snickered again and pointed his sword towards the homes beyond the trees. "Why Akane, you should know better then to ask that. I'm going to kill them of course." His body disappeared within a flash.

_WHAT! NO! HE COULDN'T…HE WOULDN'T!_ In an ecstatic attempt to keep up, she disappeared within the blink of an eye right after him.

* * *

After reading through this, I did realize that the whole thing with Akane and Zabuza may have sounded awkward to some people if your mind is in the gutter a long with my mind. It is in NO WAY intended to sound like that. If you have NO idea what I'm talking about, please go on like I never said any of this!  
XD


	7. Deception

Jumping across building rooftops and crowded streets, Akane never released her sight on Zabuza for even a moment. Her eyes lowered into a glare and her hands curled into fists wanting to strike him for even thinking of killing her parents.

Zabuza turned to face her, "Come on Akane, I know you can keep up. If you really want to save your parents, you should do better." His focus strayed forward and he vanished from her sight again.

_No! He's getting ahead of me!_ Akane lowered herself and madly dashed to her home regardless of the blood now spilling from her back.

Zabuza did not appear again. She reached her front gate and cleared it with a simple bound and landed on her feet on the other side before running up to her front door. Akane threw the door open and wildly ran throughout the house.

"MOM, DAD!" she called repeatedly only to receive the echo of her cries.

_They were here when I left! Where are they?! WHERE ARE THEY?!_ Akane's eyes widened in horror as she slid to a stop in the front room connected to the outdoor patio.

A sickening laugh came from beyond the back door and it could only belong to him – to Zabuza. Akane grasped her sword in both hands and lunged at the door with her blade before her.

The blade easily pieced through the paper thin wood and she stood on the patio ready to face her uncle. "Mom! Da –," Akane stopped her words as she stared at Zabuza standing over her father.

Sayu cowered on the floor with her arms in front of her face blocking her from view while shivering like a wet cat. Akane's eyes lowered to see her father's body slashed by the back lying in a pool of his own blood.

An aching feeling pulsed through her body as tears of anger rolled down her face. Her focus turned to her uncle and she screamed, "ZABUZA!" The only reply she received was another laugh.

Sayu refused to shiver long enough to lower her arms and take in the sight with her own eyes. A shriek escaped her mouth as she grabbed her head and began to sob. "Akane, what have you done?!"

Akane turned to her mother and shook her head flinging her tears to each side of her. "What? No, it was –." She gasped as the image of Zabuza began to fade into a small cloud of mist. "W-What?!"

_Genjutsu! NO! No, no, no! What did he do to me?!_ Her eyes glanced to her blade to see a stream of blood, her father's blood, running down to her hands upon the hilt. "N-NO!" Her hands released the sword and it dropped to the floor beside her father. She grasped her head and screamed into the air as she kneeled in her father's blood. "Daddy, Daddy I'm so sorry!" she cried. "Please, no! DADDY!"

Sayu got to her feet and took a few steps back. "Somebody…," her voice was almost inaudible at first but she began to yell, "SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

Within seconds of the cry, two Jounin appeared in the yard beside Sayu. She simply pointed to Akane with a shaky finger and hid her face in her palms. The Jounin watched as Akane sat up to look at them with despair apparent in her eyes.

They appeared behind her in a flash and performed a technique that rendered Akane motionless and in a moment – unconscious. As her body became numb, she fell to her side staring at her father's lifeless face and seeing her mother crying at the mere sight of her husband being killed and her daughter being bound and taken away.

The two Jounin lifted Akane over one of their shoulders and left Sayu in the yard as a team of medical ninja and coroners came to clean the scene and take her father away.

_Mother…Father… I'm sorry._ The words repeated endlessly in her mind as her uncle's laugh echoed and continued until she was unconscious.

Akane's eyelids flitted open and close for about a minute before she was able to rub her eyes and sit up. When she noticed that she was not at home, she began to panic. But the moment she tried to stand up, her legs buckled and she fell back to the floor.

_Where am I? It's so dark in this room._ Akane lowered her eyelids in hopes of being able to see.

Though she was not able to see, she was able to hear. Her senses picked up a number of voices, including her mother's, talking just beyond a wall or door ahead of her.

"That is what we will have to do with her. We can't risk her hurting another person close to her. You might have to be limited to a certain amount of hours of contact with your daughter, Sayu Momochi."

_Mom? Mom is here!_ Akane tried to speak but nothing came out of her mouth. _What? I can't even talk! These binding techniques are really starting to bug me!_

"B-But she is my daughter! Why can't I see my own daughter when I want to?" Sayu's voice was more assertive over the male that had just finished speaking. "Maybe this is all a big understanding. When she killed Hiroki, she started talking about Zabuza. It was almost as if she thought he was there."

_So…I really did kill Dad._ Akane laid her head against the ground and sniffed the air. _I can still smell the blood…They can't do this to me! It wasn't my fault! _She began to squirm feeling that her control over her body was returning.

A deep hum of thought came from the man Sayu was arguing with. "If that is the case, she will have to be –."

The sentence was cut off as a screech from Akane's mouth filled the room she was in. "STOP IT!" she tried to walk but stumbled as she did. "Let me out of here! It was Zabuza! Zabuza did everything! IT WAS ZABUZA!"

A bright ray of light stained the room as two Anbu Black Ops opened the double doors leading into the Hokage's office. Akane stopped screaming and stared at the wrinkly man sitting in the chair behind a hefty desk stacked with papers and folders. Across from the desk was her mother giving a smile seeing that her daughter had finally woken up.

"Akane." Sayu's voice lowered to her normal tone.

"So, she finally woke up. It seems she was fighting the binding technique too." One of the Anbu stepped into the room and helped Akane into a chair in front of the Hokage.

Akane bowed being in the Hokage's presence and kept her eyes trained on the floor in front of her. "Many apologies for the disturbance…"

The Hokage folded his hands in front of his face and cleared his throat. "That is not the problem, Akane. We need to know what happened to you yesterday. Was Zabuza really here? What happened to make you do such a thing towards your own father?"

She felt tears welling up in her eyes but she shook them off to remain calm. "It was him. Zabuza was here and he sought me out so he could take me back to the Mist Village. There's a wound on my back from when he stabbed me!" She reached back to touch the wound but it was no where to be found. "Where is it? No! I know I had a wound here! I could feel it! I screamed and it was bleeding!"

One of the Anbu approached Akane and stared her in the eyes. "Here's your answer. It was the common instant of genjutsu control – very powerful genjutsu I might add."

Akane looked at the Hokage with begging eyes and watched as he inhaled deeply in thought. He opened his eyes and stood up putting his arms behind his back. "Akane Momochi, I have heard that you've passed the Genin exam. Tomorrow the Chuunin instructors will equally place your peers into teams of three. You, on the other hand, will be separated from the rest of the Genin to be individually placed under the supervision of a Jounin."

_Individually? He's…He's keeping me away from everyone!_ Akane fit the pieces together.

She sat up with her hands in fists by her sides. The Anbu jumped to their toes with their weapons ready to strike. Sayu flinched and moved further from her daughter. "With all due respect Hokage, you can't do his to me! I came to Konoha seeking the life of a Konoha ninja." Akane's teeth clenched together and her shoulders tensed in anger.

The Hokage sighed and sat in his chair before ordering the Anbu to stand down. "Don't get me wrong. You will still be trained as a Konoha ninja but you are being separated because there is danger revolving around you as long as Zabuza Momochi is still alive. It is for the safety of other Konoha ninja that you remain by yourself until further notice." He nodded his head as a final confirmation of Akane's sentence.

_He ruined it for me…My chance to become an actual ninja…and HE ruined it!_ Akane stared at the floor trying to clear her thoughts of anger-producing images.

Sayu stood up and folded her hands together in front of her chest. "Hokage, Sir," her voice was soft once again, "what will happen between Akane and me?"

A wave of silence sent a chill up Akane's spine_. What is he going to say?_ Her eyes widened in horrid anticipation.

The Hokage sighed and shook his head. "Sayu Momochi, the attack of Zabuza upon your husband puts you at risk for attack as well. Seeing as the attack was performed by your daughter, being in contact with her further increases the risk. I will have Anbu guards watch over you and visits with Akane will be scheduled on certain days throughout the month." He watched as Sayu slowly began to cry.

Akane rushed to her mother and hugged her waist in a cling she hoped would never be broken. "Mom, please don't let them take me away from you!" she begged beginning to cry as well.

Sayu stared at the Hokage in silent, pleading desperation while holding Akane beside her. She shook her head refusing to believe this. "This can't be…How could you do this?"

The Hokage stared at his desk carrying the heavier burden. "Sayu, this is for the safety of both you and Akane. Until the matter with Zabuza is resolved, this is how it will have to be."

Akane refused the order and clung to her mother only considering death as an option to get her to release her mother. The Hokage watched as the Anbu by his desk walked over to Akane and Sayu and ripped the two of each other's grasp.

"Mom! MOMMY!" Akane felt her childlike nature as she called for her mother.

"AKANE!" Sayu yelled holding her arms out as if she could touch Akane one last time before they would meet again.

Sayu fell instantly to the force of the Anbu that restrained her and Akane squirmed wanting the comfort of her mother's arms again. She kicked at the Anbu holding her only to receive the same paralyzing technique they had used on her before.

Akane dared not jinx the day anymore than it already was. She killed her own father, she was ordered to remain a one man ninja team, and she was taken away from her mother. This was the worst day of her life – or maybe the start of an even worse life.


End file.
